The United States Department of Justice continues its antitrust investigation into Apple and has lately reached out to developers who create apps for Apple's iOS devices.
Suren Ramasubbu, CEO of app development agency Mobicip, was interviewed by a U.S. Investigator in November and questioned approximately Mobicip's interactions with Apple. Mobicip makes parental guidance software program that parents could use to see and control what their kids are doing online, similar to Screen Time.
According to Reuters, Mobicip's application was temporarily removed in 2019 for a failure to fulfill App Store requirements placed in place through Apple. The Justice Department called the CEO's attention, and a "handful" of developers have been in touch with the department.
Apple declined to comment on the news of the interview with Mobicip's CEO. However, the tech giant expects its app developers to stick to a "high widespread for privacy, security, and content."
Apple, other tech giants on a probe by U.S. Department of Justice
Apple, together with Facebook, Google, and Amazon, is going through a government inquiry into whether the way it operates stifles competition. The probe, which was launched in July 2019, is examining records from industry shareholders to decide whether there are antitrust issues that need to be addressed.
Apple has been accused of anticompetitive enterprise practices on the subject of the App Store. Several developers and companies believe that Apple's very own apps, functions, and services have a sizable benefit over third-birthday celebration apps. Investigating claims from third-party corporations who work with the App Store seems to be the first wave of the Department of Justice's investigation into Apple.
ALSO READ: Apple Systematically Removing And Restricting Third-Party Screen Time Apps, Developers Claim
Screen Time, which changed into brought in 2018 with iOS 12, has led to disputes with builders who make similar software programs. Screen Time gives parents built-in controls for limiting access to apps and tracking app usage and options previously dealt with by third-party applications.
Apple's Screen Time Feature
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When Screen Time came out, Ramasubbu was told by Apple that the Mobicip app violated App Store guidelines with features that had been allowed inside the past. The app was removed from the App Store for approximately six months and has been to be had since October 2019, but Ramasubbu believes his enterprise has gotten smaller in half.
According to Reuters, six different executives from groups that create parental manage apps had a "comfortable" courting with Apple until mid-2018 while Screen Time came out.
Apple said that it is cracking down parental control apps because they were the use of Mobile Device Management (MDM) generation for device monitoring, which isn't what MDM become designed for.
Multiple parental control app developers petitioned Apple to release a Screen Time API that allows them to match the functionality provided by Screen Time. In the long run, Apple allowed parental control apps to reactivate MDM technology.
Apple faces various accusation for its App Store problems
Apple has faced different accusations over its App Store apps, which includes lawsuits from Spotify that Apple Music has a distinct gain due to the fact Spotify has to pay Apple a part of its subscription prices. Spotify's proceedings have caused a review of Apple's App Store policies by the European Commission.
ALSO READ: Apple Facing Lawsuit For 'Unlawful' Siri Recordings | Tech Times
Apple is also facing a lawsuit over its anti-competitive regulations associated with App Store charges taken for subscriptions, which has been allowed to proceed with the help of the Supreme Court.
It is still unclear how the Department of Justice's antitrust investigation will go, but it's clear the government is looking into Apple's App Store practices. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee asked Apple details related to its guidelines for the App Store in September 2019 with particular knowledge on parental manipulate apps, search rankings, in-app buy sales split, in-app hyperlinks to non-Apple price systems, and more.
